By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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Dai Kaiju Pro “Volume 1 – The Kappas Walk Among Us”
Replay available via IndependentWrestling.TV
November 4, 2023 in Worcester, Massachusetts at the White Eagle
This is a new promotion to me, but it’s in a familiar location — the home of the weekly Wrestling Open shows every Thursday. While I don’t know several wrestlers on this show, of the ones I do know, they are regulars in this building. Dino Winwood provided commentary. I don’t know Winwood’s work, but I came away very impressed with him as a one-man show.
* Immediately noticeable is that everyone is seated! A normal Wrestling Open show has most fans standing, some literally leaning against the ring. The crowd is maybe 150-200. The president of a wrestling organization from Thailand was introduced. He said they were proud to be here. Ultramantis Black and several masked wrestlers — they all look like sea creatures — attacked the Thailand promoter. UBlack got on the mic and said this is the day of an unholy alliance between the Umicore and himself. Ultramantis Black ripped apart a bouquet of flowers. A group of U.S.-based wrestlers ran to the ring and chased off the sea monsters.
1. Shivam defeated Brad Hollister to retain the SPW Singapore Championship at 10:01. Hollister is the short Taz-meets-Brian Cage powerhouse. Shivam looks a bit like Wheeler Yuta (short dark beard and dark hair), and this is his US debut! Shivam agreed to put all of his title belts on the line in this match. They traded shoulder tackles early on and Hollister hit a German Suplex at 3:30. Shivam hit a senton and they were both down. They got up and traded punches, and Shivam nailed a spinebuster for a nearfall at 7:00. Hollister hit a headbutt. Shivam hit a standing powerbomb. Hollister fired back with a sit-out powerbomb for a nearfall, and they were both down. Hollister hit a clothesline for a believable nearfall, and the crowd rallied for Shivam. Shivam hit a twisting brainbuster for the pin. Definitely an impressive debut.
2. Rex Lawless defeated Kappa Jungle at 4:09. I always compare Rexless to Jaxon Ryker, or maybe Jake Something; he’s quite ripped and muscular. Kappa Jungle wore a lion costume and mask and he hit the ring to Guns N’ Roses “Welcome to the Jungle,” and he weighed in at “just over 9,000 tons.” His whole mannerisms… the way he moved his body and arms … made me think of Danhausen or Delirious goofiness. Comedy early on. Rex hiptossed KJ across the ring, but he missed a Vader Bomb at 2:30. Rex tied him in the Tree of Woe and hit a rolling cannonball on him, then a sit-out powerbomb for the pin. The crowd was totally into this Kappa Jungle’s comedy, but this really was a squash.
3. The Batiri defeated Channing Thomas and Teddy Goodz (w/Sidney Bakabella) at 12:52. Channing is the Joey Ryan-meets-Bobby Roode slimy heel. Goodz is the Marty Scurll clone but more muscular. The Batiri are tattooed with yellow-and-black faceplant (think WCW-era Vampiro). I think I’ve seen them before. Channing opened for his team. Goodz entered but got his foot stomped on, and the Batiri worked him over in their corner. Bakabella got in the ring and rolled back and forth between the Batirii for some comedy that wasn’t landing for me. Sidney escaped the ring and ran over and joined commentary, screaming that “They were going to kill me!”
Thomas and Goodz began working over one of the Batiri; these two are muscular but short. This was a pretty basic beatdown that went on for several minutes. The hot tag was finally made at 10:30, and this Batiri hit a spinebuster on Channing for a nearfall, then a springboard stunner. The Batiri went for a cover but Sidney pulled the ref from the ring at 12:30. The Batiri hit a team kneestrike move on Channing to pin him. Solid match.
4. Ichiban defeated Mortar at 9:57. These two are squaring off again on Wednesday for Fight Life. Mortar is the Rhino clone; short, thick with long black hair. An intense lockup to open but Mortar easily shoved him across the ring. Ichiban hit his deep armdrags. Mortar slammed him face-first and hit a senton for a nearfall at 2:30. Mortar nailed an Earthquake-style buttsplash to the chest and took control. Ichiban hit a springboard crossbody block at 5:30, then a handspring-back-elbow into the corner, then a second-rope missile dropkick. These two are really in-synch.
Ichiban hit a superkick for a nearfall. He hit his series of punches in the corner with the fans chanting “one!” with each blow. Mortar nailed a top-rope Frankesteiner, then a Lionsault, for a nearfall at 8:00! I didn’t expect those moves. Ichiban hit an enziguri, but Mortar immediately hit a pop-up Samoan Drop for a nearfall. Mortar applied an abdominal stretch; Ichiban escaped and hit a stunner. Ichiban rolled into the ring, jumped on Mortar’s shoulders, and hit a forward Victory Roll for the pin. That was really really good; two pros that really click. They shook hands.
5. Krule defeated O’Shay Edwards at 8:38. O’Shay is a big Black man like Ahmed Johnson or Ezekial Jackson; we saw him a few times at the end of the ROH Sinclair era and more recently in MLW, and of course, the tall, masked Krule had an extended run in MLW as Mads Krugger. Krule always made me think of Kane for being so expressive while wearing a mask and not saying a word. They charged at each other and had an intense lockup, and they traded punches. they had a couple exchanges where they weren’t on the same page but quickly recovered. They brawled to the floor at 2:30.
In the ring, Krule hit a suplex at 4:30. They both went for chokeslams; they hit simultaneous Mafia Kicks and were both down. Edwards hit a superplex and they were both down at 6:30. Edwards hit a back suplex, then a German Suplex, then a fisherman’s suplex for a nearfall. Krule hit a chokeslam. Edwards hit a spinebuster, but he missed a top-rope moonsault. Krule applied a full nelson and slammed Edwards face-first for the pin. Solid big-man match.
6. Baliyan Akki defeated Kappa Samurai at 3:36. Baliyan walked to the ring first but Kappa Samurai attacked him from behind. Again, Kapp looks like a green sea monster to me. I’ve seen a lot of Akki this year; he’s appeared on several AEW Dark episodes, usually in the corner of Emi Sakura. Kappa pulled out a sword and swung it at Akki! Akki blocked it. They got in the ring and the bell sounded at 2:00 to officially begin the match. Kappa hit a few quick moves, but Akki hit a spin kick to the head and a frogsplash for the pin. Acceptable. Again, the bell-to-bell match was only about 1:35.
7. TJ Crawford defeated Massimo Pesca at 11:50. Pesca is introduced as being from Italy, and he has long hair in a bun. TJ rolled to the floor to stall. In the ring, Pesca got some creative rollups. TJ began workig over the left wrist. Pesca set up for a dive at 5:00, but TJ caught him wtih a stunner in the ropes. TJ went back to work on the damaged wrist and fingers. Pesca hit a huracanrana, then a shotgun dropkick and a dive through the ropes into a DDT on the floor at 8:00. In the ring, Pesca hit another tornado DDT for a nearfall.
Crawford hit a Falcon Arrow for a nearfall and he was back in control. Pesca hit a bulldog and a nice Crucifix Driver for a nearfall at 10:00. TJ hit an enziguri. Pesca hit a reverse suplex, dropping him stomach first, then a powerslam for a nearfall. Fresca tied TJ in a mid-ring Octopus, and the crowd taunted TJ to tap out, but he reached the ropes. With the ref out of position, TJ poked Pesca in the eyes and hit a spin kick to the head for the cheap pin. The crowd loudly booed the outcome. That was really good stuff. Pesca bowed to the crowd and got a nice round of applause.
8. Bobby Orlando defeated Nolo Kitano at 8:08. I’ve see Nolo usually on House of Glory shows out of New York; he’s ‘the ghetto samurai.’ Orlando is the dork with his stuffed goat and his Colt Cabana-style brand of humor. Orlando hit a dropkick and a cartwheel-into-a-chop at 2:00, which popped the commentator. Nolo dropped Orlando back-first on the top turnbuckle. Nolo hit a Lionsault for a nearfall. Orlando hit some Dusty-like punches and a superkick at 5:00 for a nearfall. Nolo hit an enziguri and a jumping knee to the chin, then a backbreaker over his knee and a spin kick to the face for a nearfall.
Nolo grabbed Orlando’s goat and put it in the center of the ring. He grabbed his sword! The crowd reacted to this. The ref confiscated the sword. Orlando went for his second-rope stunner but he slipped (not on purpose) and they both crashed to the mat. They got up and traded punches. (Give them credit for making a change here as it would have been ugly if Kitano sold that stunner, which didn’t connect.) Orlando hit a powerbomb seconds later for the pin. Like I said, give them credit for keep going and having a better finish.
9. Monomoth defeated Landon Hale at 13:47. This is Monomoth’s U.S. debut and he wore an angel costume with huge angel wings. He is from Thailand and is dressed very effiminate. They shook hands at the bell. Good standing switches early on; I feel like these two practiced some of these spots because it was really good. Hale hit a huracanrana and a dropkick at 3:00. He hit a standing moonsault for a nearfall, then a backbreaker over his knee for a nearfall. Monomoth hit a missile dropkick at 6:30 and an X-Pac-style Bronco Buster.
Monomoth hit an Eat D’Feat and a Fame-asser Legdrop for a nearfall. Hale countered with a mid-ring Spanish Fly and they were both down at 9:00. Hale hit chops; Monomoth hit spin kicks to the ribs. Hale hit a German Suplex for a nearfall at 10:30. Monomoth hit a Northern Lights Suplex with a bridge for a believable nearfall, thenn a tornado DDT for a nearfall, but Hale reached the ropes. We got a “this is awesome!” chant. Hale came off the ropes but Monomoth grabbed him, got a backslide, flipped his body over for leverage, and scored the pin. That match had no business being that good.
10. “The Mane Event” Midas Black and Jay Lyon defeated Kappa Kozo and Kappa Junior (w/Ultramantis Black) at 10:50. Again, these Kappas are dressed like green sea monsters in masks. Of course, TME have had a handful of matches in MLW lately, and Lyon started for his team. He dove through the ropes onto the heels at 3:00. In the ring, the Kappas took over and worked over Lyon. Some comedy with the Kappas not quite being on the same page, and Midas made the hot tag at 7:30 and hit some dropkicks. Midas hit a pair of German Suplexes. He grabbed the other Kappa and hit another German Suplex. One of the Kappas hit TME with a weapon. A Kappa hit a second-rope frogsplash for a nearfall. Lyon nailed a Jay Driller, and Midas hit a Froggy Bow elbow drop (clearly Briscoe inspired moves) for a nearfall, but Ultramantis Black broke up the pin. TME hit their team X-Factor faceplant for the pin. Okay action; none of the Kappas did much for me.
11. Veny defeated Shoko Nakajima at 15:03. I recall trans star Veny was in an AEW women’s tournament during the pandemic; I think I’ve seen her maybe three times and she was introduced as “the Poison Beauty.” The energetic Shoko got a nice pop; I truly don’t know if I’ve seen her before. Veny has a significant height advantage. Shoko hit a flip dive through the ropes at 3:30. However, Veny beat her up on the floor, and took control in the ring. Shoko hit some punches that Veny no-sold. Shoko hit an Iconoclasm out of the corner. Veny hit a running boot at 8:30. Veny nailed a moonsault to the floor. She missed a top-rope moonsault in the ring and they were both down.
They got up and traded forearm strikes. Veny hit a series of kicks to the face. Shoko got some rollups for believable nearfalls. The ref got bumped at 12:00. Shoko hit a Northern Lights Suplex for a visual pin but the ref was out. Shoko opened a bag and dumped out a pile of dinosaur-style toys; the commentator noted that many looked pointy. Shoko nailed a Frankensteiner, sending Veny onto the pile of toys for a believable nearfall. Veny hit a Michinoku Driver onto the pile of toys! Ouch! Veny kicked the toys and got booed. Veny hit a second Michinoku Driver for a believable nearfall. Veny then hit a top-rope moonsault for the pin. The crowd chanted “this is aweome!”
Final Thoughts: What a fun show; this easily topped my expectations. I’ll go with the fun Hale-Monomouth match for best, the show-opening Shivam-Hollister for second, and the main event for third. Both Crawford-Pesca and Ichiban-Mortar earn honorable mention, and I wouldn’t argue with anyone who has those top five matches in a different order. All five are worth checking out. Nothing here was actively bad, and at least the matches with the masked Kappas were generally short and light-hearted. This show gets a thumbs up from me.
Shoko Nakajima has made a couple appearances in AEW, so you may have seen her there, though I don’t think she’s been there since 2020.